Senators call on PM Babiš to step down over Stork’s Nest affair

The Upper House of Czech Parliament has called on Prime Minister Andrej
Babiš to step down over new allegations surrounding the Stork’s Nest
affair, in which he faces charges of EU subsidy fraud.

According to the senators, Andrej Babiš’s presence in the government is
unacceptable following suggestions that his son was forcibly held in Crimea
so that he would not be able to testify in the corruption case against his
father.

The resolution was approved by a majority of senators on Thursday after the
prime minister failed to provide a convincing explanation with regard to
his son’s alleged kidnapping. It says the prime minister should step down
until the criminal investigation has been concluded.

Andrej Babiš is facing a criminal investigation into allegations he
wrongfully acquired CZK 50 million in EU subsidies for the Stork’s Nest
complex near Prague. He claims the case is politically motivated.

Most Czechs (57 percent) believe Prime Minister Andrej Babiš tried to keep
his children from testifying in a corruption case against him over EU
subsidies to the Stork’s Next complex, according to a poll by the Median
agency.

The poll was taken after the publication of an interview on Monday with
Babiš’s son, who said he had been “kidnapped” and taken to Crimea
because his father wanted him to “disappear” while the investigation
into EU subsidy fraud was underway.

Mr Babiš says his son, who now lives in Switzerland, is mentally ill and
that the allegations are nonsense. The prime minister also says his
daughter is bipolar and so her testimony would be unreliable.

According to the Median agency poll, 50 percent of respondents believe that
it is important that his children’s testimony is heard, as their
signatures are on key documents and they also face charges in the Stork’s
Nest case.

Seznam Zprávy: PM’s son wants to testify over alleged kidnapping

Andrej Babiš Jr. says he wants to cooperate with the police in the
investigation of his alleged kidnapping to Crimea, which was supposed to
prevent him from testifying in the corruption case against his father,
Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babiš. He made the statement in an e-mail sent
to the news website Seznam Zprávy on Thursday.

Earlier this week, Seznam Zprávy carried an interview with Andrej Babiš
Jr. in which he said he had been forcibly moved to the Crimea as his father
wanted him out of the way of a corruption investigation.

Prime Minister Andrej Babiš responded by saying his son was mentally ill
and had to be under constant supervision. But according to Andrej Babiš
Jr., who currently lives in Switzerland with his mother, his father is
lying about his mental illness.

Czech MPs debate same-sex marriage, vote possible in January

The lower house of Parliament on Wednesday debated two proposals on
legalising same-sex marriages – one for and the other against – but a
possible vote is not likely until January.

Backing an amendment to the Civil Code granting homosexuals the same
marital rights as heterosexuals, including the possibility to adopt
children, were 46 MPs.

They included members of the governing ANO and Social Democrat parties, as
well as the opposition Party of Mayors and the Pirates.

The Christian Democrats spearheaded a measure to preserve the status quo,
that is to allow same-sex couples only to have registered partnerships. At
last count, 37 MPs had committed to backing it.

Close to 3,000 gay and lesbian couples are now living in registered
partnerships in the Czech Republic thanks to a law approved in 2006 after
years of stormy debate in the lower house and vehement opposition from the
Christian Democrats.

Registered partners do not have the same property and
other rights as married couples. According to the group Jsme fér (We Are
Fair), two-thirds of Czechs favour legalising same-sex marriage.

Zdeněk Hřib officially elected Prague Mayor

Zdeněk Hřib of the Pirate Party has been officially elected Prague mayor,
receiving 39 out of 65 votes at the first meeting of the new municipal
council on Thursday.

The 37-year-old politician was supported by the three coalition partners,
the Pirate Party, the independent movement Praha Sobě and the Joint Forces
of Prague, made up of TOP09 party, the Party of Mayors and Independents and
the Christian Democrats. The opposition ANO and Civic Democrat deputies
voted against him.

Exhibition of Jaromír Funke gets underway in Olomouc

An exhibition of the work by world-renowned Czech photographer Jaromír
Funke gets underway in the Museum of Art in Olomouc on Thursday. Called
Jaromír Funke: Photographer of the Avant-Garde, the exhibition presents
his most famous images from the 1920’s and 30’s but also some of his
lesser-known and previously unpublished work.

The Czech photographer is regarded as one of the most important
representatives of international Avant-Garde photography and his works are
part of many renowned collections, including the Paul Getty Museum in Los
Angeles, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and Centre Pompidou in Paris.

Weather

Friday is expected to be mostly overcast with daytime temperatures ranging
between 4 and 8 degrees Celsius.